Wendy's Release Back into the Wild

It's been almost a month since Wendy first joined the Ubizane family. A month of loving scratches and tummy rubs, of being spoiled with hand fed grass and mixed veggie buffet..

After becoming used to the area from the safety of her Boma, the time finally arrived to release Wendy back into the wild. Emotions were bitter sweet. While this had been the joint goal of CROW and Ubizane from the beginning, it also meant that we would have to say goodbye to one of the newest members of our family.

On the morning of the 23rd of December 2013 we were joined by members from CROW. After some discussion we chose to release our dear friend near one of the dams on our reserve. Wendy seemed to agree with our decision as she confidently and quickly explored her new home. 

Even with all the excitement Wendy was not one to forget her manners. She shared a tender good bye with her adoptive father Tiaan and Estie Allan from CROW.

Everyone headed back to the Lodge after a successful release but there were still concerns that Wendy had grown too attached to people as Warthogs are known to be exceptionally loyal animals. Our fears were soon quelled when we all saw how comfortable she was during a recent visit to her new home on Christmas day.

We at Ubizane are so thankful to CROW for giving us the opportunity to aid in the re-integration of this beautiful animal to the wild. 

Having a part in such an amazing story bought back so many memories of our beloved Tiban.(http://www.ubizane.blogspot.com/2012/12/final-farewell-to-tiban.html)

We wish Wendy all the best in her new home and rest assured, we will keep you all posted on any sightings of this beautiful girl.

The whole Ubizane Team wishes everyone out there a joyous festive season and a happy Christmas.

On the 21st of December 2012, Ubizane hosted the magical wedding of Shirra and Stephen.

One year later and the happy couple decided that there was no better place to spend their first anniversary than were it all started. Ubizane, the Place of Calling.

 As soon as the good news came through, the Ubizane team began crafting plans. We love it when people come back to visit and are always ready to do that little something extra for our guests, especially when it's for the anniversary of a wedding we hosted.

The following illustration and story was made especially for Shirra and Stephen. 

Check back soon for more stories about life in our little slice of heavenly bush and the experiences of our guests. 

To read more on the wedding follow this link:

http://www.ubizane.blogspot.com/2012/12/shirra-and-stephan-tie-knot-at-ubizane.html

Handyman Hein joins the family!

Ubizane’s family gained a DIY-fix-everything-man! He is an all-rounder with a love to braai. Meet our own real life Chuck Norris of Ubizane… Handyman Hein!

The fact that Ubizane was deeply nestled in nature with wildlife all around inspired Hein to apply for the job as Maintenance Manager.  

The fact that Ubizane is exciting with everyday bringing a new challenge makes this job stand out from all the rest for him! Here are a few questions that will help you get to know Hein:

What is the biggest rule in your line of work?
Do the best I can and be proud of all my projects.

Do you enjoy living in the bush?
Yes. It’s peaceful and relaxing!

What is your biggest fear?
Mozambique Spitting Cobra – or as we call it around here in Zulu: Imfezi

What animal would you be for a day, and why?
A Cheetah, so I can be the fastest in the bush and run away from the Imfezi’s!

What would you use from the items you carry around each day, to fight off a crafty monkey?
My slingshot

Tell us more about yourself:
I’m an ordinary guy from Senekal in the Free State, who loves to braai…

Welcome to the family!

Ubizane has lately established a close partnership with CROW (Centre for Rehabilitation of Wildlife) and we have opened our arms to a warthog and two Spotted Eagle Owls to join our family.

CROW came to investigate the Ubizane premises to make sure it would be a happy safe environment for released animals and we were approved as a safe haven for wildlife! After much planning and organizing, CROW released two Spotted Eagle Owls at the end of November in our aviary. This is where we will nurture the two beautiful owls, like we nurtured our Barn Owls, until they’re big and strong and can be released into the wild.

      

It was an interesting day with the Spotted Eagle Owls almost being twice the size of the Barn Owls and we weren’t sure how the four owls would bond.  For the first day they stared at each other and did not know what to do. After the second night they started competing for the territory and we decided to divide the aviary in two to give the two species their own space.

We are happy to report that the owls are living happily in the aviary and we are waiting for the wonderful day we can release them successfully into the Fever Tree Forest of Ubizane.

            

We also had the pleasure of welcoming a female warthog into our family named Wendy.  This intriguing character was found in November 2012 after being abandoned by her mother in another game reserve, being only 1 ½ weeks old. CROW took her in and hand raised the little warthog with love and patience and asked us if we would release her at Ubizane.  After having a similar situation at Ubizane where we had our dear Tiban who we found as a baby, abandoned and almost drowned after heavy rains, we knew we could not say no.  Tiban was successfully released into the Ubizane bush in December 2012 and we are very proud of this wonderful story of a baby warthog fighting against all odds and surviving. We were excited to hear about Wendy and now the day has finally arrived! CROW released Wendy into an enclosure which is meant as Boma for her at Ubizane where she will get used to the environment and then eventually go into the bush and live a happy life back where she belongs. CROW, along with a camera crew who have been filming her rehabilitation process, released Wendy into Ubizane’s care.

 Wendy has a personality as no other with a love for bananas and mielies (corn cobs)!  She adores a good tummy scratch and enjoys being fed some luscious green grass by the hand so she can give you some loving while you feed her.

The warthog will be let out of the boma each day to graze and get to know the area and climate. She started to walk around on Saturday and slowly but surely she explores a little bit further each day before returning to her ‘safety zone’ in the boma. When she is ready we will let her roam freely into the bush where we’ll hope to see a very happy ending to this story!

The Spotted Eagle Owls will be a lengthier process as these Owls are still young and need more time to grow strong and comfortable in the area. They also need to still learn to hunt and excel their predator instincts which might take a lot more time than anticipated.

Thanks go to CROW for choosing Ubizane and letting us be a part of the conservation efforts. We are so happy to have these magnificent animals, Wendy the warthog and the two Spotted Eagle Owls joining the Ubizane family in their rehabilitation process! Welcome to the family!

For more information about CROW you can visit their website, http://crowkzn.co.za/

Keep updated with the latest news about Wendy and the Spotted Eagle Owls on our blog and our Facebook profile (https://www.facebook.com/ubizane.wildlifereserve)

The Count is On! (Part Two)

The deeper we went into Ubizane the worse the roads became. That Landy looked like Elvis, rockin’ and rollin’ while battling through some very small spaces.  Luckily I got over my claustrophobia a long time ago! While tensing our eyes looking for any sign of movement or animals next to us we suddenly looked up with the tall...gigantic...Giraffe standing right in front of the Land Rover! We couldn’t help but laugh at our own stupidity for almost missing these massive creatures right in front of us! So Hamilton called out the number of males, females and youngsters for me after analysing them carefully while I wrote all our findings down.  We were slowly but surely making progress.

Giraffe were closer than expected!

Another interesting creature we met on our road while counting the game, was a big, furry Cane Rat.  Rats aren’t really the most gracious or most beautiful animals but these Cane Rats are just too cute! They are huge with little crooked teeth and fluffy fur. I enjoyed seeing this interesting friend. Now on the other hand if I saw him in my house at night – maybe I wouldn’t enjoy his presence as much!

A Cane Rat

At one point we went down a road that, to me, looked like a game trail rather than an actual road! We counted some Wildebeest and saw a few hiding Nyala.  With an overgrown trail (I’m calling it a trail because roads are different in my mind) we bundu bashed into the bush. Leaves were flying everywhere and I was covered in branches and plants, so much so that I could probably start my own garden in the Landy! Hammy laughed as I cringed and ducked for oncoming Acacia thorn branches.  As we came to a stop in an open area where the trail connected to a road which I perceive as a REAL road, I realised the Landy was a little heavier than usual. I did not know if I wanted to look back...maybe a Wildebeest decided to join the party or it could have been my worst fear – a gigantic spider on steroids! This is Zululand after all where ANYTHING is possible! After plucking up the courage I looked behind me and there it was...a massive tree branch – the size of pretty much HALF THE TREE stuck in the row of seats behind me. So I explained the situation to Hamilton in the only way I saw fitting, “Ah Hammy you shouldn’t have! Normal men give a bunch of roses...not half a tree!”

 After driving for hours with the sun piercing through my pale skin, we were finally confident that we covered as many animals in our designated area and went back to Tree Lodge.  It was important to go through your designated area as many times as possible before calling it a day.  It helped to use landmarks such as a certain odd looking tree, etc. to ensure that game weren’t counted more than once. It is also easy to get lost in the endless bush so we were all equipped with a handy Ubizane map which we also used to mark and pinpoint the animals’ locations. 

 

Hammy looks over the Ubizane grounds to see if he can spot any herds
and to plan our next route...

While driving back I realised how dirty my pants were, not only with leaves covering it but also from pen marks. Driving in a shaking Land Rover with an open pen shaking around in your hand with beige-white pants – not the greatest idea.  It is now decorated in blue Vincent Van Gogh style stripes to remind me every day of my fun outing during the game count!  The end of our journey also brought about another critter which I did not appreciate as much as Hamilton did; a small jumping spider.  Yes, I do live in the bush and this should not faze me but unfortunately for me I really dislike these small eight-legged beasts. This little critter knew I disliked him and kept jumping back on me – and I admit; I did let out a girlish squeal every time it landed back on me! Hamilton enjoyed it very much, for him it was like an episode from his favourite comedy.  I just want to add this spider continuously made his way back to me after countless attempts of trying to get rid of him every time for the whole journey back to the lodge!  He’s probably still awaiting my return to the Land Rover since that fateful day...

Upon return at the lodge I ran for my lunch and water realising that we were gone from 10am until 2:30pm! We counted again for two days after the first trip and I can now say I’m a pro at game count and I am ready for the next one next year!

10 Tips to get you through your first Game Count!

 Here are a few tips that I picked up from my experience which might help you one day if you are asked to help in a game count on a wildlife reserve:

1. Use sun block... a lot
2. Wear a hat & sunglasses
3. Wash your face when you get back to the lodge...people tend to laugh at your red dirt-filled face
4. Don’t leave your pen-cap off while driving in a Land Rover – I drew on myself without even knowing
5. In fact (following point nr. 4) don’t wear white or light beige pants!
6. Look in front of you as well as to the sides to avoid catching a fright with a massive unseen Giraffe suddenly appearing right in front of the Land Rover
7. Get over your fear of spiders – you might get a follower like my jumping friend
8. Eat breakfast before you go!
9. Remember to pack a water bottle filled with fresh water
10. Keep your eyes open and find those animals! 

©Ettioné Ferreira